Car and Driver aims to find out what is the best entry-level luxury sports sedan and what’s a better way than driving comparable models from …

Car and Driver aims to find out what is the best entry-level luxury sports sedan and what’s a better way than driving comparable models from the premium brands: BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Infiniti. The Volvo S60 T6 AWD is thrown in the mix as well.

With the new generation F30 328i, BMW moved away from the six-cylinder engine and into the era of four-cylinder turbocharged units. Initially the move was received with skepticism by consumers and BMW fans, but recent tests have proven that the four-banger is a phenomenal unit.

The 2.0 liter I4 makes 240 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque, compared with 230 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque found in the previous E90 328i.

The C250 from Mercedes is now powered by a turbocharged 201-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder instead of a 228-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 found in previous iteration. Torque is now up to 229 lb-ft.

The 2012 Audi A4 has embraced four-cylinder power since the 1997 model, but the 2012 model makes use of turbocharging and direct fuel injection to produce 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque from a 2.0-liter unit.

Infiniti and Volvo are the only two brands in this pack to still use a six-cylinder engine. The Infiniti G25’s 2.5-liter V-6 produces 218 hp and 187 lb-ft of torque, while the Volvo S60 T6 is powered by a 300-hp, 325 lb-ft of torque, 3.0-liter turbocharged-and-intercooled inline-six.

Some of you might already be asking the question: is BMW still king in its class? Let’s find out.